


Angels of War make rather unqualified uncles

by Omano



Category: Dominion (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby Alex, Babysitting, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Implied Gabriel/Michael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 14:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4964044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omano/pseuds/Omano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>God should have thought about trainig His angels in the clever art of babysitting before He came up with the "Healer of Humans and Angels" part of the prophecy. But, lucky for Michael and Noma (and Alex), Gabriel might have some rusty experience in dealing with kids beneath all that disillusion and bitterness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angels of War make rather unqualified uncles

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since Gabriel's comment of "I know how to make a baby stop crying" I wanted to see this done. An AU where Michael convinced Gabriel to rather look after the Chosen One together. I don't know about the eightballs, but they'd probably work on a New Delphi like world *shrugs* - and so it's a happy world, where Michael, Gabriel and Noma play uncles and aunt to Alex on a regular basis.  
> Plus I'm Michael/Gabriel trash, so you can read it through those glasses :)
> 
> I haven't written anything in a while, and this is only my second (completed) Dominion fic, but I hope you'll like it :) Please enjoy some fluffy feelings of Gabriel with a baby after all the season's darkness!

 

It was a sweet, sunny day in the middle of nowhere during the early days of the Apocalypse. Even though there were no hoards of eightballs mauling on unfortunate humans, nor gunfire erupting from forsaken buildings, it felt more like the archangels were living through the battle of Armageddon than simply babysitting humanity’s saviour.

“Can’t you just make him stop crying?” Noma moaned in agony.

Michael glared at her. “What do you think I’m doing?”

“With all due respect, you are not doing _any_ thing!”

It was funny how Michael could lay down the nations in endless number, trot over mountains of corpses with his head held high and his face graced with terrible serenity, but entrust him with a tiny, screaming infant and he would be reduced to wide eyes and utterly frustrating helplessness. Although the stubborn little thing he was, he just wouldn’t accept the advice of his elder.

Not even when God in His far away absence could tell that His Chosen One was an awfully unhappy bundle in Michael’s arms.

“I know a good way to silence him,” Gabriel piped in.

“Your last suggestion was to break his neck,” Michal retorted.

The corner of Gabriel’s mouth curled up into a sneer, but he carefully kept his gaze on the gradually emptying cup of pudding he had been entertaining himself with. He shrugged innocently.

“It’s just one quick movement.”

“Gabriel, no.”

“Just an idea.”

Throughout all this, and for only Father knew how long, Alex had been screaming his annoying little head off. If nothing else, he was truly special for how he could wail on, and on, and _on_ without a hitch of breath.  

“I swear, if you don’t make him shut up, I’ll give one of Gabriel’s ideas a try! One would think you’ve never held a baby.”

“Well, of course he hasn’t,” Gabriel said. He pushed his now (sadly) empty cup to the other corner of the table and stood. “Michael is fiery wrath, and war embodied, not a babysitter.”

“Then why don’t you take Alex over if you’ve got that much experience?” Noma shot back.

Michael’s brows knitted together. By his protector’s instincts he already tightened his hold on the baby, Gabriel didn’t even have to reach out his hand.

(It wasn’t like Gabriel was responding to Noma’s distress, and he absolutely took no compassion on his miserable little brother. He simply preferred the cries that lasted far shorter. Dying screams for example. Those were nice. Babies? Not so much.)

“Your faith in me is truly astounding, Michael,” Gabriel noted dry, and carefully amused.

Michael looked up at him; his eyes piercing diamonds that could read through Gabriel’s facades any day. Their gazes locked. Then Michael’s lips parted on a soundless little gasp. For a fleeting second recognition spread on his face with a drop of eternal guilt that just made even this bright day grow dark – but it was immediately flushed away by yet another shrill cry from Alex. With a wince and quiet sigh Michael held out the petulant child to his brother.

Gabriel leaned down and tucked away the folds of the blanket Alex was wrapped up in.

And here he thought the baby couldn’t get any louder.

“Maybe he doesn’t like your face,” Noma cut in (still hurt that Alex apparently didn’t like hers that much either). Her voice was almost smothered by the cries. If she wasn’t a trained warrior she would have both her hands flat against her ears. No one could blame her, really.

Gabriel didn’t even cut her a look. He just lifted Alex, the red faced, boisterous monster, out of his cocoon and onto his shoulder. For a second the crying was somewhat muffled by the fabric of his top. Before Michael had the chance to push himself up and wrangle the baby out of his hands in a dash, Gabriel hoisted Alex higher and patted him on the back.

“There, there, little beastie,” he murmured. “You don’t like my face, that’s all right. I don’t like yours either.”

As soon as he started pacing, and slightly bouncing the fussy baby on his arm, the constant siren of wailing was interrupted by breathless hiccups.  

“You’ll be a great destroyer of mankind, I know, I know. You’ve proved yourself immensely to the entire planet.”

Gabriel walked around in a circle, swaying as he went.

“But we’ll have to work out another strategy. Sheer volume won’t get the truth about your nature through Michael’s thick skull.”

Gabriel glanced over at his brother. They shared a look, a second crackling with snark and delight, smiles of the soul that made both of them light.

As soon as Gabriel finished his second round and assured Alex that in the future all eightballs would be the most willing of soldiers trembling in fear of him raising his voice, the boy settled for good. Occasionally he made some weak fussy noises, but that was more for how Gabriel held him carefully far, far out of reach of his hair and ear. Babies and their grabby little hands were the most insufferable thing Father could have ever created.

He came to a halt in front of the couch the other pair of angels occupied.

Noma sat there with wide eyes and stunned into awed silence.

Michael just kept his eyes on him, as he had been following his pacing all along, his expression amused and beautifully glowing from beneath the skin. Although there  was a slight curl to his eyebrows that told Gabriel loud and clear that he totally failed to mask his smugness at his uncontested success. Not like he tried.

“I hope you have no more questions about my proficiency,” Gabriel told Noma.

“I… Really. How?”

He rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe the two of you parental geniuses wanted to grab for the Chosen One. But on second thought, I probably should have just let you. He would have screamed himself to death in a day or two, right, you bane of the world?”

“He would have parents still,” Michael pointed out.

Gabriel shrugged. Not his problem.

However, the motion had Alex’s head shift on his shoulder. That way, the warmth of the baby’s head lifted, and left a patch of wet cold feeling in its wake.

Alex had managed to bunch up Gabriel’s collar in his hand and stuff it into his mouth.

Gabriel’s face scrunched up in disgust immediately. “Ew. Humans are so gross. I still don’t see why we should preserve them.” As if Alex was some rotting carcass Gabriel held him far away from himself, thrusting him in his brother’s direction.

Michael didn’t bother to answer him just took hold of Alex again, cradling him to his shoulder. This time the Chosen One seemed content in his place. Probably because he didn’t feel like hanging from some strangely human shaped iron bars. Michael was more relaxed. He folded his arms and placed his calloused, blood-scented hands mirroring the exact same way how Gabriel had done. Observant little thing.

Gabriel sat down to his twin’s left, on the opposite side from the drool-machine and Noma.

On Michael’s right, Alex made happy gurgling noises while, with a fragment of the archangel’s hood in his mouth, he tried to snatch a couple strands of Noma’s long hair. For some reason Noma humoured him, and soon it was all cooing and shrill baby talk filling that half of the room.

Michael looked over at Gabriel. Even with all the trouble looming over them he seemed younger, beautiful in his modest delight.

The sight, the soft smile only visible in the bright blue eyes made Gabriel’s heart thud heavier. _Almost_. He was almost denied this.

Before the sorrow and uncoiling regret could snuff out the light of their day, before worry could crease Michael’s forehead Gabriel smacked himself mentally. He rolled his eyes. His twin and his irresistible charms. Michael had to do better than simply be his everything to get him to admit that playing angelic uncles to Father’s Chosen One wasn’t _that_ horrible.

“I bet your shoulder’s soaked with drool by now.”

Michael only squinted back at him. The soft shadows writhed at the corners of his lips.

“It’s no worse than Noma’s hair.”

 


End file.
